BALTIMORE –The eventual final score – much like the laws of gravity – was meaningless.

The Angels piled up 16 hits in a 13-1 rout of the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday night, completing a quick two-game sweep of the Orioles that vaulted the Angels into the lead for the first of the two wild cards in the American League.

The indelible memory from Wednesday’s game, though, was a remarkable catch by dynamic rookie outfielder Mike Trout. Faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall outfield walls in a single bound – and reduce nine-time Gold Glove winners to teary-eyed cheerleaders – Trout went well above the wall in center field to rob J.J. Hardy of a certain home run in the bottom of the first inning.

“Very impressive. A-plus. I give him a 98,” joked Angels right fielder Torii Hunter, familiar with the art of robbing home runs. “Just watching him go up in the air, I got chills. I was pumping my fist. We were high-fiving.

“I had tears in my eyes – but I’m a man. I don’t cry.”

The relatively low fences at Camden Yards (just over seven feet high most of the way around the outfield) have made it a frequent crime scene for homer-robbing plays since it opened 20 years ago. Hardy’s drive, though, appeared to clear the wall by at least four feet before it was intercepted by Trout’s glove.

“There’s no doubt it was as good a catch as you’re going to see,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “I don’t know if I’ve seen a guy go that high for a ball after running that far.

“It reminded me of a young Torii Hunter. I should rephrase that – it reminded me of Torii Hunter.”

Angels starter Jered Weaver called it “one of the best plays I’ve ever seen behind me” then struggled to think of any to match it.

“I didn’t think he (Hardy) hit it as hard as he did,” Weaver said. “I didn’t think it was going to be a home run. But he (Trout) was four or five feet over the fence when he caught it. That was awesome.

“He’s showing everybody what he can do and it’s fun to watch.”

He showed it to a large group of friends and family this week. They all drove approximately two hours from his hometown of Millville, New Jersey to the games in Baltimore (the closest American League city).

“It’s always special when you have your friends and family here watching and then if you do something special like that it’s a great feeling,” Trout said. “They came here to see stuff. Sometimes you try to do some little stuff extra and you get lucky.”

Trout’s description of the play did not sound like a guy who thought he got lucky. But his reaction captured by TV cameras told a different story.

“I knew he barreled it up,” he said. “I was running back. When I got to the track, I just told myself the only chance I had was if I jumped. I jumped as high as I could and caught it. It kind of helps with the rubber warning track.”

His reaction was almost as priceless as the catch. He quickly pounded his chest and looked in Hunter’s direction, a wide grin splitting his face. After looking up to watch the replay on the scoreboard, the grin only got wider.

“We just kind of looked at each other,” Trout said. “I think we were both in shock I caught it.”

Hardy said he had to watch the replay after the game to see it again.

“Pretty good,” the Orioles shortstop said. “For sure, that’s probably the best play I’ve seen against me. Maybe the best

I’ve seen against anyone else, too. Pretty good.”

Almost as an afterthought, Trout had four hits in the game, his third four-hit game and 23rd multi-hit game this season. That raised his league-leading average to .344.

The Angels had 17 hits in a 7-3 win over the Orioles Tuesday night, the second time this season they have had at least 15 hits in consecutive games. The other time came during their sweep of the Rockies in Colorado earlier this month.

Like that mile-high romp, Wednesday’s win was ignited by the top of the lineup. Trout scored three of the four times he was on base. Hunter had three hits including a solo home run in the first inning and scored a career-high four runs. Albert Pujols was on base three times as well, all on walks. In the cleanup spot, Kendrys Morales had four RBI on three singles.

That turned most of the night into a simulated game for Weaver, making his second start since returning from the DL. He was not as sharp this time but only allowed one run on six hits in 6 2/3 innings while running his record to 8-1 and lowering his ERA to 2.31 – second in the American League behind White Sox left-hander Chris Sale (2.24) and just ahead of teammate C.J. Wilson (2.36).

“We’re just playing baseball right now,” Scioscia said of the Angels who are 36-19 since Trout’s season debut on April 28 (the best record in baseball over that stretch). “We’re starting to see this team reaching its potential.

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